CASE STUDY
IRISH COURTS SERVICE
Putting forward the case for effective IT management
“We wanted a single strategic partner who we could rely upon to manage the
day-to-day running and support of our IT infrastructure.”
John Coyle – Director of ICT, Irish Courts Service
Challenge
The effective operation of the courts system is a critical
element of the well being of any society. However, their
effectiveness is not influenced solely by the manner in which
cases are dealt with by judges, but also by the administrative
and institutional framework that supports and facilitates the
operation of the courts.
In Ireland this framework is provided by the Courts Service,
which was established on 9 November 1999 following the
enactment of the Courts Service Act of 1998. The Courts
Service’s remit includes providing support services to the
judges and information to the public, managing and
maintaining court buildings, and providing facilities for users
of the courts. There are approximately 1,100 court users
and approximately 140 judges that use the Courts Service
support systems.
SUMMARY OF KEY FACTS
Organisation
Irish Courts Service
Services delivered
A fully managed IT infrastructure support service and the development
and implementation of advanced court room technology to aid the
presentation of evidence
Key metrics
• 1,250 desktops and 200 servers
• 1100 employees, 140 judges in over 70 locations throughout Ireland
Benefits
• Value for money – centralising services has cut costs and technology
has replaced manual processes
• Improved customer service – now have rapid access to accurate
information, speeding up the judicial process
• Minimised business disruption – system availability is enhanced
with a reliable and secure IT infrastructure
• Simplified management – have a single point of contact for the
management of all technical and support issues
• Focus on core business – allows the Courts Service to
concentrate on its core, value-adding activities
• Accurate budgeting – costs are entirely visible and predictable
over the contract
• Access specialist resources – can access a wide range of
essential business and technical expertise
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In 2002 the Courts Service wanted to modernise its
information and communications infrastructure and decided
that it did not have the necessary skills and expertise available
in-house to do this. So, it decided to outsource the support
of its IT infrastructure.
Solution
Following a competitive procurement exercise the Courts
Service awarded Fujitsu a four year contract to provide a
complete managed service covering 1,250 desktops and 200
servers in over 70 offices throughout Ireland. Fujitsu also
manages other service providers as part of the contract and
supplies a range of call-out services as required.
In 2004 Fujitsu was subsequently chosen to design and deliver
the world’s latest technology courtroom for the new
Commercial Court in Dublin. Following a separate EU tender,
in 2005 the Courts Service also awarded Fujitsu the contract
to design, implement and support a high-end, fully integrated
technology solution to aid the presentation of evidence in
three of the courtrooms in the Cork Courthouse as part of a
major a ?26 million refurbishment.
Both projects were successfully delivered on time and to
budget and included digital audio recording, video
conferencing, and electronic evidence distribution catering
for evidence from CD, DVD, VCR, visual presenter or an
evidence PC/server or from counsel’s laptop.
John Coyle, Director of ICT, Irish Courts Service, continues,
“These new courtroom technologies implemented by Fujitsu are enabling
us to provide an enhanced service to the judiciary, the legal profession
and their commercial clients, and are delivering cost savings by speeding
up the judicial process.”
CASE STUDY
IRISH COURTS SERVICE
The success of the first managed service contract prompted
the Courts Service to extend the scope and duration of the
replacement contract. Following a competitive procurement
exercise Fujitsu was chosen to continue providing the managed
IT infrastructure support services up until to 2013.
“Fujitsu met and in some cases exceeded all the requirements specified by
the Courts Service,” says John Coyle. “For us, it was important to
award the contract to a supplier that is proactive, innovative and flexible
and has the enthusiasm for continuous service improvement and customer
service. These characteristics were reflected in the bid from Fujitsu and
from our experience of working with them over the past number of years,
we are confident that they will deliver.”
Under the new contract, which is valued at over ?12 million,
Fujitsu manages all aspects of IT infrastructure support
within the Courts Service. Its extensive range of services
includes desktop, network, database, system administration,
hardware support and asset management services, as well as
the provision of IT security, hosting, supplier management,
service desk and service management. Additionally the
Courts Service can request ad-hoc services from Fujitsu that
are a logical extension of the contracted services.
As another step in its change modernisation programme, the
Courts Service chose Fujitsu to deliver and manage a Digital
Audio Recording (DAR) system in courtrooms nationwide.
Under the contract, which is valued in excess of ?16 million
and spans a period of 5-7 years, Fujitsu will provide a fully
managed service including the provision of the core DAR
system, a secure data storage environment and the production
and delivery of court transcripts. Using state-of-the-art
technology, proceedings in all courtrooms will be recorded to
provide an accurate record of evidence in all cases for
subsequent transcription or playback.
P J Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive Officer, Irish Courts Service,
says, “Digital Audio Recording will replace the existing stenography
system which has been in place for many years. The courts are not
immune to developments in technology generally and this new system,
based as it is on digital technology, will provide Judges with increased
levels of support within the courtroom and is a further step in our
overall change modernisation programme.”
Benefits
The new court room systems and managed service provided
by Fujitsu are enabling the Courts Service to:
• Value for money – centralising services and removing
duplicate effort and resources has cut costs, while increasing
the overall level of support, and technology has been used
to replace labour-intensive processes
• Improve customer service – all stakeholders now have
rapid and consistent access to accurate information and
evidence within the courtroom, speeding up key elements
of the judicial process
• Minimise business disruption – system availability is
enhanced with a reliable and secure IT infrastructure,
proactive management and rapid problem resolution
• Simplify management – a single point of contact for
the management of all technical and support issues, using
standardised procedures/methodologies across all
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suppliers, substantially reduces risk, management time
and overhead costs
• Focus on core business – allows the Courts Service to
concentrate on its core, value-adding activities, rather
than the underlying support processes
• Budget accurately – costs are entirely visible and
predictable over the contract
• Access specialist resources – can access a wide range
of business and technical expertise essential for the
maintenance and support of a modern IT infrastructure.
“The Courts Service is increasingly dependent on its technologies and
applications for the effective discharge of its business operations,” says
P J Fitzpatrick. “This has resulted in significant business benefit for
the organisation and has transformed the organisation from a virtual
‘Greenfield site’ to a modern technological organisation using info
rmation technology to support the administration of the courts and the
provision of ever increasing levels of customer service.”
John Coyle adds, “The ready availability of Fujitsu’s extensive
technical skills enables the Courts Service to react rapidly to changing
business requirements and to provide better and more consistent service
levels internally across the organisation and to our customers.”
Approach
The Courts Service began with an almost clean slate in
terms of existing IT infrastructure, a factor that John Coyle
says worked to their advantage, “We weren’t replacing any
equipment or doing a huge amount of integration with existing systems,
so we were able to get off the ground quickly.”
However, central to Fujitsu’s ongoing service delivery is their
continued focus on continuous service improvement, which
ensures an innovative and dynamic service based on a deep
understanding of the customer’s business.
Expertise
With over 30 years experience of supporting the needs of
customers, Fujitsu has a proven track record in providing
complex systems integration and management services that
reduce costs, improve productivity and customer services and
deliver a compelling return on investment.
In particular, Fujitsu has a great deal of experience in
delivering working technology-enabled courtrooms in The
Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the UK and
Australia. It is also leading the Causeway project, which will
enable all justice agencies in Northern Ireland to electronically share
information easily and efficiently.
Explaining the importance of this John Coyle says, “We
wanted a single strategic partner to provide information technology
support services, with proven capacity, capability and experience, who we
could rely upon to manage the day-to-day running and support of our
IT infrastructure, freeing us to focus on our core business of efficiently
and effectively supporting the operation of the courts.”
© Copyright Fujitsu Services Limited 2008. Created September 08. 2393
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the information in this document is correct and fairly stated, but does not accept liability for any errors or omissions.